What if we had more women on our Boards and Commissions?

Gender equity now!

It’s time for women of Norwalk to have an equal role on our Boards and Commissions.  The other day I was preparing a letter to the Mayor’s office about how important it was to achieve gender parity on our Boards, Commissions, Committees and Agencies, given that women make up about 52% of the resident population in Norwalk.  I found it hard to believe that we still have several important Boards, Commissions, Committees and Agencies had zero, if few, women.

For example, the Board of Estimate, where our financial health and budgets are reviewed, has two immediate openings and currently includes no women.  Send those resumes ASAP!

I feel that the time has come to strive to achieve true equity on each and every one of our Boards and Commissions where at least 50% of the seats are occupied by women, including women of color.  We have a long way to go but I truly believe Norwalk would be even better if equal representation were achieved sooner rather than later.  Let’s reserve more appointments for women and do better outreach in order to promote openings.  Newtown and several other towns actually announce openings in their local newspapers.

According to the revived Commission on the Status of Women (first begun by the late Mayor Bill Collins in 1987 and which should also include males), City Code Chapter 115-4:  Duties of the Commission, Section E:  To conduct outreach to encourage public participation to improve the status of women and Section J: To promote equality in the appointment and hiring of persons for all levels of government positions.

The Commission has great intent but has not moved fast enough and is in need of reorganizing in order to expedite equity. I approached them in March of 2022 and still await a meaningful conversation after advocating about this for years.  They have recently developed a list of vacancies that can be viewed with difficulty on the City website and have contacted our new DEI Officer.  

Here are a few examples of Boards and Commissions that need to have a “woman’s point of view”…and skill.  There are many terrific male volunteers, but there are ALSO many terrific females that are not being allowed to participate.

Top needs right now:

Board of Estimate, known as the BET.   There are no women on this important financial and budgeting Board and there are two openings that will be decided upon very soon.  I strongly believe that the two openings should only be reserved for women.  For a long time, there had been only one female seat and I know that there are many qualified women who would apply if the openings were made more public.  Send your resumes and bios to the Mayor’s Office and your Councilperson ASAP.

Harbor Commission:  There is only one woman on this important Commission which has been the case for over 20 years. The Common Council just approved renewing the seat of a male member.

Shellfish Commission:  There are currently no women on this important Commission (they help protect the multimillion-dollar shellfish beds).

 

Many of the Boards and Commissions have only a small number of seats occupied by women and we can do better.  To be fair and representative, we should strive for at least 50% women, with some heavily male-dominated Boards and Commissioners volunteering to vacate their seats in order to include more women.

There is not all bad news, as the Administration has appointed more women to executive-level professional positions than any Mayor before, which is commendable, in addition to reviving the Commission on the Status of Women after several years of hearing from constituents like me.

However, without allowing more women on Boards, Commissions, Committee and Agencies, there are often issues related to communication and style that comes with intrinsic gender bias in our male-dominant society, well documented by those that study gender equity.

Many women report that they are constantly interrupted or have experienced insulting and condescending behavior when they try to assert themselves.  And it is not just from the men.  It’s time to stop the “Kill the Messenger” mentality.  It’s time for some gender sensitivity training for our staff, our Boards and Commissions.  That would be a great project for our new DEI Officer.

Women of Norwalk, what have your experiences been?

Women of Norwalk, send your resumes to the Mayor’s Office and your Councilpersons to let them know that you are interested in an appointment as another way to serve the community and share your knowledge and ideas.

Diane Lauricella